Challenger wins Maldives presidential vote

A Maldivian woman casts her vote in the run-off elections in the first ever multi party democratic elections in Male, Maldives, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2008. Asia's longest-serving leader Maumoon Abdul Gayoom faced a democracy activist he once held as a political prisoner in a run-off vote Tuesday in the Maldives' first democratic presidential election. (AP Photo/Sinan Hussain)
— AP

A Maldivian woman casts her vote in the run-off elections in the first ever multi party democratic elections in Male, Maldives, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2008. Asia's longest-serving leader Maumoon Abdul Gayoom faced a democracy activist he once held as a political prisoner in a run-off vote Tuesday in the Maldives' first democratic presidential election. (AP Photo/Sinan Hussain)
/ AP

MALE, Maldives 
A former political prisoner won the Maldives' first democratic presidential election, preliminary results showed, defeating the Indian Ocean archipelago's longtime ruler and sending euphoric supporters into the streets Wednesday in celebration.

With all the votes counted from Tuesday's election, opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed won 54 percent of the vote to President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom's 46 percent, according to provisional results from the nation's elections commission.

The results signaled the end of the 30-year reign of Asia's longest-serving ruler, who won six previous elections but had never before faced an opponent. A final official count will be released later this week.

"We have embraced democracy for the sake of the next generation and the people of the Maldives," said acting opposition party head Ibrahim Hussein Zaki.

The election was viewed as a referendum on Gayoom, 71, who is hailed by supporters for bringing development and tourism dollars to this tiny nation of 370,000, but is criticized by opponents who brand him a despot who violently suppressed opposition.

As the results were announced, hundreds of opposition supporters gathered on the streets of the capital, Male, to dance, hug and cheer for Nasheed, who was reportedly in talks with Gayoom.

Nasheed, head of the Maldivian Democratic Party, is a charismatic democracy activist who had been jailed by Gayoom's regime. He promised to push through deeper democratic reforms for the nation.

Polling went more smoothly than during a chaotic first round earlier this month when six candidates were on the ballot. But hundreds complained that they had not made it onto polling lists while the names of some dead relatives had.

As the polls closed, Elections Commissioner Mohamed Ibrahim said just over 1,000 complaints had been received and were being processed. Anyone waiting in line was permitted to cast a vote.

Nobody won a majority in the Oct. 8 poll, forcing the run-off. Nasheed trailed Gayoom by 16 percentage points in the first round, but won votes from supporters of smaller opposition parties.

"We want a change. It makes a big difference to be able to choose and decide," said Ibrahim Shameem, a 47-year-old civil servant as he voted Tuesday. "Before, even though we voted, we didn't know if our vote was counted."

Since Gayoom came to power in 1978, the Maldives has been transformed from a fishing community without roads to a regional tourism hub attracting billions in foreign capital that his supporters say has improved the standard of living for many.

"We need someone with experience. He has experience," said Mohamed Shifau, a 21-year-old student. "The development we see today is because of him, all the improvements."

Gayoom began a democratic reform program in 2004 in the face of large-scale street protests and growing international pressure.

But first-time voter Aisthath Muha, a teacher, said his reforms haven't gone far enough and accused those in power of putting personal gain over the needs of the people.

"There are so many things we would like to see changed," said the 22-year-old. "We want the government to develop the country, but here it is the opposite."